At the Tale's End
by NoOneKnowsIWriteThis
Summary: De-Anon from the Kink Meme. After the secrets of Labyrinthia are revealed, Barnham attempts to cope with the guilt over his role in the witch trials. Can Maya, who was sent to the flames in an accident he feels responsible for, help ease his burden? MayaxBarnham


**From 9/2014**

He was freed shortly after sunrise, having spent the night of his arrest in the prison. He'd managed to steal some sleep, since he'd long ago grown used to napping in his armor.

However, it was not the lack of sleep that left him dazed. It was the retelling of the actions of the previous evening that he, Ms. Greyerl, and the other inhabitants of the dungeon had received just before he and the butler had been released:

There was no such thing as magic. Labyrinthia was an experimental town. Everything he'd worked for had been a lie.

He staggered away aimlessly, dazed from the revelation and the weight of the guilt he felt resting upon his shoulders. He hadn't even taken notice of his surroundings until a familiar barking roused him from his stupor.

"Constantine?" he whispered, still too stunned from events to speak fully.

His question was swiftly answered by the voice of a young woman.

"Constantine!" she cried. "Where are you going? We need to find..." Her voice trailed off as she came to a halt, able to see what had set the dog off. "...Inquisitor Barnham."

Barnham managed to raise his heavy head to glance at her. It was Maya Fey, the apprentice baker who'd been sent to the flames by mistake when she'd helped free Espella Cantabella. When he was truly Inquisitor Barnham, Defender of Labyrinthia, he'd found her worthy of his highest admiration. But now, with the truth weighing him down like an anchor, he was unworthy of even looking upon her. He let his gaze drop back to his feet, where Constantine was greeting him happily, unaware of his master's inner turmoil.

Maya suddenly appeared by his side, grinning at him.

"Inquisitor Barnham, I'm so glad we found you! Constantine missed you so much, he's been chasing Nick all around the bakery and we haven't been able to get any work done. So I took him to look for you." She smiled at him expectantly. A pout began to form on her face when she realized she wasn't going to get any response, though the pout was quickly replaced with a look of worry when she took the time to examine his face.

"Inquisitor Barnham," she said softly, "are you alright?"

He mumbled something in response.

"Inquisitor Barnham?" she inquired again.

"Zacharias," he repeated, louder this time.

"What?"

"My name." A sigh escaped his lips. "I am no longer an Inquisitor, nor do I consider myself to be worthy of that title."

Her look of confusion shifted to one of concern.

"Oh," she murmured. There was a moment of silence, then, "Well you must be starving, so we'll just go back to the bakery and-"

"No!" His exclamation even startled himself. Another wave of guilt washed over him, after everything he'd done this girl was still trying to help him, the least he could do was be polite to her. "Th-that is, Ms. Fey, it would probably be best if I returned to my room and rested."

She took his arm. "Alright, which way?"

"What?" He stared at her, confused.

She laughed and shook her head. "You don't think I'm going to let you go alone, do you? You barely look like you can stand."

He tried to gently pull his arm out of her surprisingly firm grasp. "I appreciate your offer, Ms. Fey-"

"Maya," she interrupted. There was a pause as he waited for her explanation. "My name." She offered him a small smile. "If you're Zacharias, then I'm Maya."

"Ms... Maya, I do not require your assistance to return home," he insisted, trying once again to tug his arm free.

She gave him a sharp look. "You look like you're dead on your feet. Besides, if your room is in the barracks, you're going the wrong way."

Barnham finally took the time to look at his surroundings and discovered the girl was correct. He sighed and said, "Very well."

"Come on, Constantine!" she called as she began to lead the weary knight away.

After they made it to barracks Maya insisted on taking Barnham the rest of the way to his room, and he found, between fatigue and guilt, he had no interest in arguing with her. He was almost relieved when Maya declared her intentions to stay until he was settled when they at last reached his room.

The room was spartan, but comfortably large for one person. Most of the contents were standard issue, with the dog bed and dishes, scattered dog toys, and loose doodles being the only signs of individuality. The bed was large for one person, and Barnham ached to collapse into it and bury himself away from the world. But he was stopped from that plan by a concerned voice.

"You're not going to sleep in your armor, are you?" Maya asked.

He shrugged. "I am quite capable of doing so. Besides, I wouldn't want to bother one of the squires with tending to me when there are others who deserve their assistance far more."

For a moment her face held an expression he couldn't read. "Fine, I'll do it myself."

She puzzled over him for a minute, making him shudder, before she slid her hand up his shoulder, under his armor, and unbuckled one of his pauldrons. She carefully laid it on the ground before moving to the one on the other side. He tried to repress a shiver as her delicate fingers slowly searched for the buckles. He couldn't remember the last time someone besides a squire had touched him so closely, and certainly none of the squires were this tender. Barnham's memories held no recollections of physical intimacy with anyone at all, but then his memories were faulty.

Then his guilt reared its head once more. As Maya began to pull off one of his gauntlets, he remembered how tainted, how filthy he was. While the blood of innocents wasn't on his hands, he'd still caused so much pain in his merciless drive to purge Labyrinthia of witchcraft. He'd ignored the pleas of those charged with the crime and had even taken some pride in their deaths. When Maya went to pull off his vambrace, Barnham pulled back.

"You shouldn't help me," he murmured. "I'm tainted. I've done so much wrong, to so many innocents."

She reached for his arm again, hesitating when he flinched away. "Zacharias," she said softly, his heart skipping at his name being said so tenderly. "You can't blame yourself for everything. You were doing what you thought was right. It's not your fault everything was a lie." She reached for his arm once again, and this time he let her slip off the next piece of armor.

She managed to get through both of his arms without anymore interruptions. However, as she leaned in to remove his breastplate, she ducked under his arm, sending another shiver down his spine. He sighed. There was no way she could know that he was so sensitive to her gentle contact. Being so close to her he noticed she smelled like fresh-baked bread, but with a fruity undertone.

It wasn't just that she was the only person he'd been physically close to, Maya was also everything he'd ever wanted in a partner. Beyond her beauty, she was fierce and bold, brave enough to put her life in danger to help those who needed it. She would have made an incredible knight.

When she guided him to sit on the bed and then knelt before him, he knew his longing would be uncontrollable if he allowed her to run those delicate fingers of hers along his legs.

"I can continue from here," he managed to whisper, somehow keeping his voice level.

"Okay." She smiled as she glanced about the room looking for something else to do. Her eye landed on Constantine's empty water dish. "I'll just fill this." She left the room, task in hand, with Constantine following at her heels.

Left alone with his thoughts, Barnham tried to push any fantasies of Maya's fingers trailing over his unarmored body from his mind. She would never show such affection towards him, the Inquisitor from her trial.

He worked quickly to undo the rest of his armor, as well as the belt that held his sheathed sword, leaving it in a pile at the foot of his bed.

Maya came in shortly, Constantine trotting behind her. After placing the dog's water dish on the ground, she came over to his side and handed him a pitcher.

"I figured you must be thirsty after last night," she said by way of explanation, a hint of color appearing on her cheeks.

He blinked. Surely he was imagining that blush. After a moment he realized she was still waiting for a response.

"Th-thank you, Maya," he stammered before taking a swig of water. In his grief he hadn't realized how thirsty he'd been. It wasn't long before he'd emptied the pitcher.

He caught her staring and watched her blush to match the one forming on his own face. "Is something the matter?" he asked.

Her gaze dropped to the floor. "You're just so much smaller without your armor." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Especially here."

"Th-that is one of the effects of armor," he replied, feeling incredibly defenseless in just his tunic and leggings. "Ms. Fey, I-"

"Maya!" she corrected, leaning over so he could clearly see the pout on her face. He swallowed nervously, she was close enough that he could easily lean in and close the distance between them.

"...Maya, I should...rest," he mumbled, distracted by her closeness.

A look Barnham couldn't read crossed her face. Then she smiled and said, "Good-bye, Zacharias," before leaning in and placing a light kiss on his cheek.

He knew his face had turned a vibrant red, and as Maya pulled back he felt himself stop her by cupping her face with his hand. The contrast between their skin was intense, his hand was rough and calloused from years of swordplay, while her cheek was smooth and soft. Before he realized what he was doing, he'd brought their lips together into a gentle kiss. Maya not only returned the kiss, she leaned into it, forcing him to drop his hands back for balance.

She grinned at him when they finally parted. "I was wondering when you'd get the hint," she teased. She took the empty pitcher from his lap and placed it on the ground. Then she led the startled knight so they were properly on the bed, him hovering over her. He hesitated, clearly to long for her liking because she pulled him down for another, more heated kiss.

When she released him, he stared at the display before him, unsure of where to place his hands. She sighed, sat back up, and tugged his tunic off over his head and then tossed it to the ground. She began gently running her fingers across his torso and the scars that marked it. He felt another shiver of arousal run through him. He pressed their lips together once more, pushing her back onto the bed. She eagerly met him, rolling her hips against his and earned a lusty moan in response.

Maya rolled them, flipping their positions so she straddled him. She undid the ties that held her clothing on and let her it fall to the floor. Stripped to only her modest undergarments, Maya was beautiful and bold when laid bare. He rested his hands on her hips, his thumbs nervously tracing circles. She leaned down and placed her mouth next to his ear.

"First time?" she whispered, her words echoing through him.

"As...as far as I can recall," he answered breathlessly. She hummed in response.

"Right, the whole mind-wipe thing. I'll go easy on you then." She giggled, sending shivers down his spine, and then nipped at his neck, coaxing out another cry of pleasure. She kissed her way down his chest, drawing needy panting from the knight. She came to the waistline of his leggings, and he couldn't keep his hips from bucking, nor could he hold back the desperate cries that fell from his lips.

Before he realized what was happening, as his mind was clouded with lust and need, Maya had positioned herself above him. Her gentle hand cupping his cheek was what brought his attention to her.

"Zacharias," she said softly. "Are you ready?" He managed to nod his assent and focused on trying to hold still. Since Maya knew what she was doing, she'd be the one to guide him.

It was only by using all of his strength, and Maya's hands pressing against him keeping him grounded, that he managed to control himself at all as he found himself sheathed within her. When she finally moved he eagerly tried to match her. The sight of her eyes closed in pleasure, her mouth slack emitting beautiful noises, her black hair flying loosely about her, was one he knew he'd treasure for the rest of his life. Her hands roamed his chest, while his held her hips lightly, afraid to grip more. She took one of his hands and lead it to her breast, which he experimentally squeezed, earning a delighted moan in response.

Before long he could feel that his release would be soon. "M-Maya," he panted, "I-I'm..." He didn't manage to get anything more out before he climaxed.

When he managed to focus again, he discovered that she'd slipped off of him and was working toward achieving her own release. Partially out of guilt that he'd been unable to hold out until she'd finished and partially because he still wanted to explore her body, he set one of his hands to playing with her breast, while he placed kisses across her chest. He managed to elicit a few eager moans for his effort, but was rewarded with a passionate cry when he tenderly bit at her collarbone.

It wasn't long before she also climaxed, even under his amateur attention. Passionate petting shifted to something more gentle and softer as he watched her experience her release.

"Zach?" she murmured as she came down from her pleasure.

"Yes, Maya?" he responded softly, his hand running lightly up and down her arm.

"How was it?"

He smiled at her. "Wonderful," he answered before placing a tender kiss on her lips, which she returned eagerly.

They were broken out of their reverie by a familiar barking and the sound of the dog door opening and closing.

"Oh no!" Maya exclaimed. "I have to get back to the bakery. Nick is probably worried out of his mind."

He clambered out of bed with her, but while she hurried to gather her clothes, he grabbed a cloth and dipped it in Constantine's untouched water dish.

"It's for a good cause, boy," he replied when the dog barked at him.

He handed the wet cloth to Maya and pressed a light kiss to the back of her head. She soon returned it to him, and he cleaned himself off as well before placing it with his dirty clothes.

"I think that I will accompany you," he announced, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

She paused to stare at him, her eyes running up and down his body as a grin spread across her face. "In that case you'd better put some clothes on, unless you're planning to walk around naked," she teased.

He chuckled as he pulled out a set of clean clothes. "I was just released from the prison, and I'm in no rush to return. Particularly on a public indecency charge."

Her laughter was musical.

It wasn't until they were both dressed and ready to leave that she spoke again.

"I'm going to miss you," she said softly, "when I'm back in California." His heart fell. While his memories were still incomplete he did remember California as being very distant.

"We'll stay in contact," he promised.

"I'd like that," she replied. Though between them there was an unspoken acknowledgment that continuing a romantic relationship wouldn't work out.

His stomach clenched, even as Maya gave him a loving kiss and led him from his room.

There was no such thing as magic.


End file.
